This invention relates to inexpensive toy vehicles that can be molded of polymeric material, and, in one aspect, to such vehicles which are powered by a manually-wound rubber band.
Heretofore, inexpensive toy vehicles which could be molded of polymeric material and provided as premium items in cereal boxes and the like have not been as effective as playthings as has been desired. One type of such toy vehicles comprised a flywheel and included means by which the flywheel could be caused to rotate, after which the vehicle was positioned with the flywheel in contact with a generally level surface and the energy stored in the flywheel would propel the vehicle across the surface.
In one such vehicle the means for causing the flywheel to rotate was a fan blade formed around its hub, and to cause the flywheel to rotate a child blew through its hub. That vehicle, however, required substantial wind energy to bring the flywheel to high r.p.m., and the energy stored in the flywheel was quickly dissipated without propelling the vehicle for a substantial distance.
In another such vehicle the means for causing the flywheel to rotate included a spur gear at its hub. A user pulled a rack over the spur gear to cause the flywheel to rotate at high r.p.m. As with the wind-operated flywheel, however, the energy was too quickly dissipated without driving the vehicle for a substantial distance.
Another type of such toy vehicles had a drive wheel driven directly by a twisted rubber band supporting the drive wheel at its hub. That type of vehicle required an inordinate rotation of the drive wheel to wind the rubber band, however, and thus was not as much fun to use as might otherwise be the case.